Not surprisingly this topic has morphed into deep theology. I would be lying if I said I'm surprised. It always was about powers and principalities in the spiritual realms.
:) > Let's say you have to choose between A and B, let's say you chose A. > Where did that come from? Did you choose A because you are who you are? > Because the holy spirit inspired you? Just sheer chance? Which? (I > still > can't get a straight answer from you on this topic). The straight answer is this: You are *always* in control of your own choice. This is true even when you'd rather blame a spirit, or a demon, or fate, your upbringing, your DNA, your rotten parents, or anything or anyone else but your own soul's will. All of these things may afflict you; still the choice is yours. This choice and the freedom to make it is the ultimate gift of God, that no other created being enjoys, and is a component of being made in His image. Whether in the process of deciding you hear and heed the Holy Spirit's voice, or some other spirit's voice, or no spirit at all, is a different matter, which has to do with the state of your spirit in relationship to God--i.e., dead vs. alive, and if alive, near vs. far. To discern "where it come from" one must first know the answer to this question: is your spirit alive to God or not? <sidebar> Discipleship is about being reborn, and walking nearer. It's a loooong and painful process (notice how many failures the apostles had along the way), and a lot of bad doctrine prevents people from making breakthroughs in their relationship with God because of a lack of understanding about this process. </sidebar> The outward consequences of the choice between A and B also don't necessarily mean anything, depending on the state of your spirit. If it's dead to God you can't please Him no matter what your choice, even if officially or in the eyes of men it is perceived as selfless and charitable and even ostensibly Christian. Wittingly or unwittingly you're doing it for the glory of the god of this world, Satan, in this case. Satan will gladly use spirits under his control to touch your spirit, which is very much alive to him in this condition (indeed he has lordship over it), maybe even give you a spirit of religion to inject hope beyond reason in your own righteousness. All false religions, including many so called Christian religious institutions, emanate from this reality. It's a rather hard truth, and a very bad place to be. It's also the state of nature since Eden. When God told them they would surely die if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was referring to their spirits in relationship to Him. The Devil as usual got them to think of it in terms of their flesh---it was after all a tasty apple, and they did not physically die, an apparent point scored for Satan in the honesty category. This is always the deceiver's pattern of victory: confuse spiritual with fleshly things. If your spirit is alive to God, i.e., has been regenerated through an act of confession of your sins and sinful nature, and willful submission to the lordship of Christ by a sheer act of faith, well your choices and their consequences take on a whole new dimension, but you still never lose your free will to choose A or B (or C or D etc.). It still doesn't mean all your choices are met with God's approval. The wrong ones can easily open you up to demonic attack and ruin your credibility among men. And even then you are free to choose rightly and re-establish a closer walk. This part is not cut-and-dry enough for most Christians and they invent all kinds of nonsense doctrines around this that have no basis in Scripture. - Bob _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
